Joint UK, Mauritius deals predicted, post London event

More than a 100 delegates from financial services firms in the UK were given a masterclass in how to tap into opportunities arising for Mauritius, with fintech attracting a number of interested parties, organisers said.

The Financial Services Promotion Agency (FSPA) led a delegation of 20 companies represented by more than 30 financial professionals from the jurisdiction, to the UK last week.

As part of its participation as the Mauritian delegation at the Africa Financial Services Investment Conference 2017 (AFSIC), last week, the FSPA hosted, what is called a “highly-targeted Mauritius IFC business meet” with more than a 100 delegates from UK financial firms in London to “showcase the image of Mauritius as the investment hub for Africa and fintech related activities”.

The Business Meet, was opened by Girish Nunkoo, high commissioner of Mauritius to the UK, and was attended by UK-based operators in the fields of investment banking, asset and fund management, wealth management, family offices, legal services and fintech amongst others, the FPSA said in a statement commenting on the event.

“As financial centres, London and Mauritius have a lot in common and I am certain that by developing collaboration models, we can create, through the relevant institutions, opportunities for all,” said Nunkoo. “Mauritius has the requisites to be used and act as a platform for investments into Africa and other emerging markets.”

David Lashbrook, head of Africa Real Estate at Momentum Global Investment Management said that the event “reinforced my belief that Mauritius is the jurisdiction of choice for investing in Africa”.

Fintech hub

Hirander Misra, chairman of GMEX Group added that the rapid development of Mauritius as an International Financial Centre coupled with the establishment of a Fintech hub is making it “very attractive for business and technology-focused companies like us to establish a major presence there”.

“The FSPA has been instrumental in convincing us to establish in the Mauritius IFC,” said Misra. “Mauritius acts as a gateway to Sub-Saharan Africa for the various ventures we are undertaking across the continent.”

Harvesh Seegolam, chief executive of the FSPA said that the mission to the UK has been “very timely” and has resulted in a number of new initiatives with “key UK based companies operating in the financial services sector” and the Mauritius IFC.

“We have received concrete interests from operators looking at exploring opportunities in asset management, investment banking, Fintech, legal services, fund administration and fund and investment structuring amongst others,” said Seegolam. “We are expecting a number of these projects to materialise, and inward delegations, in the next few weeks.”